Most Popular

Court Questions Horton Decision in Light of D.C. Circuit Ruling

Properly executed arbitration agreements can prohibit employees from bringing Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions in some federal courts. This is despite a National Labor Relations Board decision holding that mandatory arbitration for employment disputes violates the National Labor Relations Act, a federal district court has ruled. In doing so, the court joined other courts […]

Spotlight on Boomers: Boomers redefining retirement and flexibility

The face of aging in the United States is changing dramatically and rapidly, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Today’s older Americans are very different from their predecessors, living longer, having lower rates of disability, achieving higher levels of education and less often living in poverty. And the baby boomers, the […]

Congress Sees Self-funded Health Plans’ Financial Strength

Companies that self-fund health benefits are larger than companies that fully insure health benefits and their solvency is just as good as companies that fully insure, a government report required by the health reform law indicates. The reform law requires reports on the prevalence, solvency and quality of self-funded plans, with the stated goal of […]

E-Verify: What Employers Should Know Before Enrolling

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increased employers’ Form I-9 audits by 60% in the current fiscal year. Consequently, many employers are considering enrolling in E-Verify, which could assist them in verifying their new employees’ employability and decrease the risk of an audit. You should involve legal counsel in the decision-making process, however, because […]

Mental Impairment Accommodation in Action

In yesterday’s Advisor, we got attorney Audra Hamilton’s take on mental disability accommodation. Today, her examples of accommodation in action, plus an introduction to BLR’s popular pre-written policy collection, SmartPolicies. Hamilton’s remarks came at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Nashville, Tennessee. Hamilton practices law in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Accommodation Example #1: Depression John […]

Alert: CA minimum wage expected to increase

Last week, the California legislature passed a bill (AB 10) that will increase the minimum wage in California to $9.00 per hour effective July 1, 2014, and to $10.00 per hour effective January 1, 2016. Before the bill was passed, Governor Jerry Brown had indicated that he would sign it. The minimum wage in California is currently $8.00 per hour.

Feds Freeze Per Diem Rates for FY 2013

Reimbursement rates for lodging, meals and incidental expenses for fiscal year 2013, which begins Oct. 1, will be frozen at FY 2012 levels, the U.S. General Services Administration announced Aug. 27. GSA is the arm of the federal government that sets travel policy for federal employees. The reimbursement rates, commonly called per diems, determine the […]

News Notes: Congress May Make Inside Sales Employees Exempt from Overtime

Legislation is pending in Washington that would treat certain employees who perform inside sales work the same as outside salespeople when it comes to overtime pay. Inside sales personnel are currently entitled to overtime after 40 hours of work in a week. However, a bill making its way through the House of Representatives would exempt […]

Travel and Relo—Critical or Cuttable? Your Responses

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Just My E-pinion Travel is critical for conducting business, or is it? We surveyed our readers to see what they have done with their travel and relocation budgets during the economic crunch. We found, for example, that two thirds of respondents have reduced travel, and half […]